It's official: Fundamentalist Christians can vote for Giuliani

Photo: thinkprogress.org

Fundamentalist Christians can now cast a vote for "America's Mayor" with a clear conscience.

No longer will they have to throw their support behind the "who?" candidates like Duncan Hunter, Mike Huckabee and the recently resigned Sam Brownback.

Now they can root for Rudy.

Why?

Well, because Pat Robertson says so.

Robertson made his endorsement of Giuliani known today in front of what I can only imagine was a stupified press corps in Washington, D.C.

Robertson, perhaps best known for his utterly ridiculous comments regarding the attacks of September 11th, 2001, is now endorsing the most socially liberal of all the Republican candidates for president. (You should recall Robertson blaming our refusal to put an end to abortion--amongst others things--as a causal factor that led to the deaths of nearly 3,000 people.) It is ironic, too, that it was Giuliani who became the poster boy for American vigilance after the attacks on his city.

What strange bedfellows these two make.

I would imagine both men walked briskly to the nearest bathroom sink after their handshake photo opportunity. Robertson probably used a wire brush and a half bottle of Comet. He would have to really put his shoulder into it to get all that tolerance and permissiveness off.

What this means

Simply put, legions of mindless fundamentalists will throw their support behind Rudy simply on account of this endorsement. Were it not so, candidates like Giuliani and Romney would not covet the endorsements of men like Robertson and Bob Jones III more than all the others. After all, evangelicals, perhaps more than any other interest group, vote as a bloc. These are the "values voters" that every Republican candidate is fawning over.

They won the presidency for Bush in 2000 (my apologies to the Supreme Court) and 2004 and they might just put Mr. Mayor over the top.

Robertson ran for President in 1988, so he is savvy politician in his own right. He knows that Giuliani is the best hedge against Hillary, and so he chose to set aside his long-held convictions on social issues in order to affect the outcome of the election.

Will it work? Of course it will.

My take

Robertson's endorsement is actually a hindrance to my support for his candidacy. I think Robertson makes Christians look ignorant and intolerant most of the time, and I will be hesitant to throw in with his kind.

That being said, the endorsement certainly helps Rudy more than it hurts.

For the Fundys, it's like a twisted rendition of an old hymn: "Pat said it, I believe it, and that settles it for me."